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Zelgadiss Graywords
Zelgadiss Graywords (Japanese: ゼルガディス=グレイワーズ lit. Zerugadisu Gureiwāzu; English: also Zelgadis Greywers or Zelgadis Greywords; nickname ゼル Zel) is a sorcerer-swordsman in Slayers. His Japanese voice actor is 緑川光 Hikaru Midorikawa. In the English dub, he was originally voiced by Daniel Cronin. However, after episode 13 there was a two year break in dubbing and Software Sculptors eventually lost contact with him. Slayers Premium DVD "BEHIND THE SCENES WITH CRISPIN FREEMAN" (ADV Films) Since episode 18, Zelgadiss has been voiced by Crispin Freeman. Zelgadiss is probably around 19 or 20, but he ages at half the speed that humans do due to his condition. He was probably turned into a chimera when he was 15 or 16. In the series, Zelgadiss says that Rezo is either his grandfather or great-grandfather, but Hajime Kanzaka later decided that Rezo is his great-grandfather only (the rumor that Rezo was both was a result of bad translations). According to an interview comment by Kanzakahttp://tokitama.net78.net/slayers-etc/some-setting.html#blas1p62, Rezo killed Zelgadiss's parents, and he apparently has no other living relatives. The murder of his parents was seen as an accident, and Zelgadiss apparently never learned of Rezo's implication in it. Others say it was the motivation behind Zelgadiss's desire for power. When he was younger, Zelgadiss trained as hard as he could to be a skilled fighter. He also studied magic but not seriously. Rezo tricked him by granting him the power he wanted, in the form of turning his body into a chimera- one part rock golem, one part blow demon, and one part human. Then he had him put into drastic training to teach him the magic skill he would need to find the Philosopher's Stone. His ultimate goal is to find a way to turn his body back to its rightful form, and he goes to great lengths to accomplish this. His main problem with his body is his disfiguring appearance- he is extremely self-conscious. As a result, he is very serious, reserved, and angst-ridden. The possible effects that his transformation could have had on his psyche are unknown outside of nightmares and an increased tendency toward aggressiveness. In magic, shamanism is Zelgadiss's area of expertise. He knows the most powerful spells of both spirit shamanism and earth shamanism. He's also quite proficient in wind shamanism and has a few good fire spells at his disposal. He uses water magic less often but can cast the Van Rail, so he's probably decent in this as well. His black magic is also decent, but does not go beyond Dynast Breath-class spells. He is also an adept swordsman; the novels put him almost on par with Gourry (taking his chimera advantage in account.) He often uses Astral Vine to amplify magical energy into his sword. As evidenced in Slayers TRY, Zel is skilled in more areas than just combat. He is quite the artist and musician, and his ability to plot directional points and pick locks comes in handy. He's also a pretty good shot with firearms. Zelgadiss' body allows him abilities normal humans do not have. His golem DNA gives him rock-hard skin, hair made of wire that cannot be cut by normal blades, and increased strength and endurance, allowing him to run extended periods of time without becoming exhausted or lift Filia's mace with ease while Lina falls under its weight. His blow demon DNA gives him superior speed and senses, especially hearing. His demonic nature also goes further than increasing his speed and senses by giving him a noticeable boost to his pool capacity. In other words, while it does not affect the power of his spells, it does allow him to cast more of them before becoming exhausted. In combat, Zelgadiss has a tendency to be cold-blooded and intelligent; he always uses the exact quantity of power necessary to defeat a foe, no more and no less. To accomplish this, he combines swordfighting and spellcasting with great skill. This shows a difference between him and Lina, for he takes many more factors into account than she, such as planning ahead in case he would need to have strength left if unseen enemies appear, while Lina usually casts the strongest spell she can as long has the situation does not forbid it (this includes destroying villages). Relationships Zelgadiss and Lina Inverse have mutual respect for each other. Both are fairly intelligent, and they can relate on several technical aspects of magic. However, they do not always get along, as Zelgadiss is not very patient, and Lina often drags him on what he deems to be annoying and unnecessary side trips. Gourry Gabriev and Zelgadiss have a fairly good friendship which mostly shines through when the girls around them are acting crazy. Zelgadiss accepts Gourry as an idiot, and Gourry accepts Zel for who he is as well. Zelgadiss and Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune got off to a bad start. The first thing she did in his presence was point and question his appearance. As a result, this made him immediately dislike her, which made her cautious around him as well. However, as time went on and they got to know each other better both in and out of battle, they became good companions. They can often relate with each other the strangeness of certain situations, and they often engage in small talk. They work together often in battle, casting the same spell at the same time for a double effect. Many fans have seen evidence that Zelgadiss has romantic feelings for Amelia; it is confirmed that she certainly has feelings for him (although in the original novels, this is far less evident). Zelgadiss hates Xelloss. Any suspicious behavior from Xelloss infuriates Zelgadiss and drives him crazy. He cannot stand the idea of Xelloss gaining an advantage over him (though Xelloss is the only member of the Slayers not to make fun of Zel's appearance). Throughout episodes 14-17 of Slayers NEXT, Xelloss led them on several side-quests leading to the Claire Bible, which Zelgadiss wanted to use in order for him to change himself back. However, each case had turned up empty, causing the enraged chimera to either beat him up or chase him around. Zelgadiss' original servants were Zolf, Rodimus, Dilgear, and Noonsa. He sent them out to find the Philosopher's Stone. The first two were quite loyal toward him, reminding some of the relationship between a 侍 samurai and his 大名 daimyo; apparently they were his only friends after his transformation into a chimera. Unfortunately, Zolf and Rodimus were killed by the Demon King Shabranigdu, Dilgear joined Rezo and turned against him, and Noonsa was killed by his master when he tried to drown Lina. Zelgadiss once said he would not be lonely in the afterlife, as his friends would be there waiting for him. Appearances * Slayers novels * Slayers VS Orphen novel * Slayers anime (EP02-EP10, EP18-EP26) * Slayers NEXT (EP01-EP26) * Slayers TRY (EP01-EP15, EP17-EP26) * Slayers REVOLUTION * Slayers Premium movie * Slayers: Super-Explosive Demon Story * Slayers Premium manga * Slayers VS Orphen CD drama * Slayers Royal * Slayers Royal 2 * Slayers Wonderful Musical Appearances * more than words * SLAYERS 4 the future * We are... External Links Chimera Kage - An in-depth shrine and approved fanlisting to Zelgadiss, providing fans with info and media since late 1998. References Graywords, Zelgadiss Graywords, Zelgadiss Category: Characters of magical origin